Behind Enemy Lines
by Commander Starforge
Summary: All contents belong to Games Workshop and the WH40K universe is their property and not mine. A lonely Imperial guardsman survives in a city filled with Chaos after the destruction of his squad. He is forced to fight from the shadows to find out how he can survive, and get out alive. Please rate and review.


"Heresy grows from Idleness." I said and left my hiding place. My gun was loaded and my mind was as sharp as it would ever be. Cultists were still searching for any survivors in the tall office building I was hiding in, but they would be no match for me. Looking out of the window I saw the black sky filled with smoke as red lights danced across the thick clouds. In the distance I heard Basilisks and Lemann Russ tanks battling Chaos Predators and Defilers in a massive firefight of mutual destruction. As I looked out onto the ruined street I saw a military convoy passing by on the street a few hundred meters below me. Chaos Astartes, demons, traitor guardsmen and cultists were wrestling with the Imperium for control over the continent. Some damn cult had managed to open a small portal to the warp, and from it there spewed forth abominations and traitors. Now we were fighting to contain and exterminate the cult and the demonic incursion.

I carefully stepped forward with my rifle shouldered. I steadied my breathing and calmed myself as much as possible. The sheer emptiness of the hallway scared me. Doors leading to empty rooms were placed with regular intervals on the dull gray wall. From time to time I passed motivational posters with guardsmen, various quotes, slogans or the Emperor himself. I quietly slid into an office with my lasrifle ready. Quickly I swept every corner before I rushed forward and checked behind a big wooden desk placed on a red carpet in the centre of the room. A mug with recaff still stood beside a holo-pic of a young girl and a boy and some papers that were waiting to be signed. Many offices were like this. Empty and abandoned as if everyone just stood up and walked out.

"Keep calm." I said to myself and walked out of the office. My heart always started racing whenever I cleared a new office, and it got little time to calm down again before I walked into a new office. Looking out of the window I saw that the convoy had passed, but I could still see the last few soldiers at the back. If I took careful aim I would be able to hit one of them, if not kill one, but that would be risky. I sat down in a crouched firing-position and took off my backpack. I had taken my scope off earlier today, when I had been moved down into the streets to fight there instead of being in a supportive position up high. I took it out of a pocket on the side of my backpack. It was a standard scope that enlarged everything four times, and it wasn't very advanced since it only used a small battery to make the red dot in the centre of four crossed lines. I slid it on the rail on top of the rifle, but did not fasten it properly since there would be no need for it and it was only a waste of time. Shouldering my rifle again I took aim at one of the Chaos soldiers at the back of the formation. He wore flak armour like mine, but his was coloured red instead of grey. "A soldier of Khorne." I whispered and moved my rifle so the red dot was in the centre of his back. "Skulls for the skullthrone." I whispered in mockery and spat in disgust. Then I pulled the trigger.

The recoil hit my shoulder as the yellow beam hit him on the upper right side of his back, and he fell down on the road. His body was shaking as he fought to breathe.

"_I must have punctured a lung_" I thought as I watched in fascination_._ I stayed completely still as I took aim for another soldier. He too wore red armour, but was slightly smaller than his dead comrade. He was around 1.70 centimetres high and quite thin. It did not take long for the formation to disperse and take cover behind ruined vehicles or in ditches and craters. Blood was pouring out of the hole I had shot through the traitor as he lay face down. He seemed to be struggling, and it was clear that he was still alive. I would not grant him the mercy of a swift death. Instead I took aim at one of his friends who was foolish enough to not be in complete cover. Taking a second shot would be risky since the enemy was on the lookout for the next shot, so I sat quietly and waited.

I could almost hear the echo of my breath, but that was probably just my imagination. Hopefully no cultists in this building had heard my lasfire, but I was unsure since I heard careful steps on the floor above. Perhaps they were just making their way down in a careful manner. After all it was not unlike the cultists to be afraid of the imperial guard. I kept my aim at the same target as before. Most of the men were at ease, but the more careful ones stayed in cover. Though they did not know where I was so their use of the cover was highly ineffective. My scope swept back and forth from group to group in a search for soldiers looking in my direction. I breathed carefully and listened. The footsteps were directly above me now. If I fired now then the cultists would hear me, and I would be severely fucked. I brushed some of my brown hair out of my right eye and started searching again. Another option was wrapping my barrel in my uniform to hide the flash and then just shoot the floor above me. Hopefully I would hit someone hostile and take them out of action. I decided not to shoot as I heard the footsteps moving away again towards the other side of the building.

I lowered my rifle and walked towards the stairs as silently as possible. Someone else was in the building, and if that someone was an enemy then they had to die. "Suffer not the heretic." I whispered as I entered the flight of stairs. It was dark since the power was out, but I saw with relative clarity. I had a flashlight, but to turn it on could result in my death and I did not want that one bit. My muffled steps echoed as I ascended the stairs to the floor above. The darkness was frightening and oppressive. I kept my rifle trimmed at the door above. I pulled the scope off as silently as I could. It would only be a problem since I was fighting in close quarters and not large distances like I was used to.

This floor was like the one below: Empty and with door opposite of the windows. I kneeled as I aimed down the hall from the cover of darkness. All the posters had been torn off the wall and were strewn across the floor. I switched my rifle to full auto as I heard several footsteps this time. They echoed down the hall. From the amount of steps I heard I guessed three persons and one of them was limping. I raised my rifle to my chin and took aim as a door opened slowly. The door creaked slightly, but in the silence it was really loud. My heart was thumping as I tried to steady my breath.

My sweat hands gripped the rifle as three people came out of the room. Two were walking normally and one of them was supporting one with a bleeding leg. They were all dressed in robes of purple silk and shoes of fine leather that was expertly made for comfort and silence. "_Slaaneshi cultists!_" I swore, and squeezed the trigger slowly backwards. I took aim as they slowly sneaked down the opposite side of the floor. I saw the barrel of something that looked like a plasma-gun and the limping cultist carried a pistol made of unknown making. Diverse sigils covered their backs and the visible parts of their weapons. The one that was most visible was the eight pointed star of Chaos painted in black on their backs. "Die you scum." I whispered to myself as a volley of lasfire ran through their torsos. The once beautiful and comfortable silken robes were now covered with scorched holes where I had hit them. None of the cultists made a sound as their dead bodies fell to the ground. My breath was shaking and so were my hands. I could almost still feel the recoil against my shoulder even though a few seconds had passed, and I had stopped shooting. Coming to my senses again I registered no sounds of alarm from anywhere else in the building or out on the street. I kept my rifle trimmed down the hall as I lurched over to the window and snuck a peak outside. The column had started moving again, leaving the dead Khorne-worshiper behind.

I got my scope out of my bag again and mounted it on the rails. "For the Emperor." I whispered in reverence as I took aim. My god sitting on the Golden Throne would surely be proud of my service. "Suffer not the heretic to live." I whispered a little louder and squeezed the trigger down once again. It felt slippery under my fingers. My gloves didn't cover the outermost joint on my finger. I stilled my breath as I marked my target. The four crossed lines found their place on his back, but judging from his long black hair I guessed that he was a she. No matter. It had to die. I pulled the trigger all the way back and the beam penetrated the back of the troopers flak armour.

It had indeed been a she, and she was a screamer. My shot had left her alive, but I had probably perforated her left lung and gargling mixed with screams. She could still be saved by a good medic, but I would not risk another shot. The soldiers down below were now shooting randomly at buildings with their las and slugger weapons. Many of the shots went far too high or low and not a single shot landed within fifteen meters of me. I took the scope off again, but just put it in a pocket in my tactical vest. It weren't standard issue, but rather one I had made myself. It featured two hooks along the zipper on the left for grenades. Beside that again I had a pocket for batteries, small rations or other small usable items. Below that I had energy-cell pouches. They were arranged in a square; two pouches across and two high. They were all filled at the moment since I had taken the liberty of "relieving" my dead friends of their ammunition. On the right I also had four pouches for ammo and they were filled too, but I had one of the pouches filled with cells for a laspistol in case I needed them. Above that I had another pocket for usable items and four holders for shotgun-shells which I had absolutely had no need for as of yet. Down on the left by my hip I had a pistol holster and a shotgun holster as well. I felt really silly walking around with all those empty holsters, but it was better to have them than not. Also my knife was sheathed on the outside of the holster for the pistol.

The scope went into my right pocket and I advanced down the hall again. I closed in on the corpses now and made sure that they were not twitching. Many guardsmen's lives would have been saved if they had only waited and watched if the downed cultist was breathing or not. Deciding that they weren't I wiped a slick strand of hair away from my forehead and started walking again. A single lasbeam hit my former position behind me, but that was the only fire I saw hitting my floor. Then something startled me. I heard a single muffled breathing from the room the cultist had just come out of. "_Another one?_" I thought as I swung my rifle towards the door. "_The Emperor protects._" I thought to myself. I almost warm in my chest as I cleared the right corner of the room from my position in the hall. My faith in my god was probably the only thing that kept me fighting now. I could always have survived as a coward and hidden away, but my faith had led me here. The room had pictures on the grey dull walls, but nothing else made it remarkable. I could see the corner of a similar desk I had seen below. I checked below it and saw no one hiding behind it. I unsheathed my knife with my left hand and kept it in a reversed grip as I supported my rifle on my forearm instead. Taking a deep breath I rushed into the room.

The sight that met me surprised me deeply. "I surrend..." was the only thing the traitor managed to say before my foot collided with her stomach. She lost all breath and adrenaline took me as she bent forward to gasp for air. What I could see of her face was all red as I brought the stock of my rifle down on the back of her head. The brunette went straight down and continued her fight for breath on the ground as I took a quick look around the room with my rifle pointing at her neck. I could see her fair skin in the crack between the collar of her grey uniform and her helmet. The stripes of a sergeant shone on her left arm. Rage, disgust and shock churned in my stomach.

"Sergeant Vicker?" I asked in disbelief at the figure at the end of my barrel.

She was still gasping for air when I rolled her over with the sole of my boot. The face of my squad sergeant looked up on me from the ground. Her blue eyes were desperate and her face red with the lack of oxygen. The nostrils on her sharp nose were flaring and her white teeth would have been shining if there was any sun. Her usually red lips now looked almost like her skin. I took a few steps back and let her catch her breath. It was never a good idea to stand with your barrel into the face of a fast enemy. Before you knew it she would have grabbed my barrel and hit me hard in the face. It took her a few seconds, but after that she eyed me carefully and tried to stand up.

"Stay down!" I barked at her, not even giving an effort to hide my disgust and anger. She took the hint and lay down on her back again with her brown eyes fixed on me and my rifle.

"I thought you died." She simply said sounding a little sad.

"I am alive, but the rest of the squad is dead. Just like you should be!" I spat the last five words at her.

"If you had been smart enough to run like I said then they would still be alive." She countered. "If you hadn't held your position like the zealous soldier you are then the lives of your squad mates would have been spared." She went on, sounding angry now. She scowled at me now and I was taken aback.

"How dare a traitor like you speak to me like that?" I replied angrily and thought back to our last stand.

_A few hours earlier Garland Square_

"GRENADE!" I yelled as I threw the explosives at the rushing cultists and jumped back down into the crater.

"R2P1S3, is requesting reinforcements at the eastern edge of Garland Square. Large amounts of cultists inbound, and our sergeant is dead." Guardsman Michael yelled into the Vox. He was our Voxman, and was thus excluded from the fighting at the moment. Apart from that we were fifteen guardsmen holding the enemy back.

"Get the Bolter firing again!" I yelled to a man named Carson as he lay struggling with a new belt to put into the bolter he had been issued. It had a bipod and was using slugger ammunition. It was a standard for the airborne troops, but we hadn't gotten here through air. A bitter fight had gone on in the city for days now, and we had been here all along originally to rest and bring the regiment to full strength again.

"Five moving on our left flank!" The female voice of Guardswoman Kristina informed me and I shifted my aim to the left. Five enemy cultists were rushing three of our guardsmen in cover there. The enemy used crude laspistols and one was wielding a shotgun. Their black robes were covered in symbols of impossible designs and made my head hurt as I took aim. My heart was beating up my throat as I fired a shot and a cultist went down with a smoking hole in his chest. Two more were taken out by a las-volley from the crater they were storming. The one with a shotgun loosened a shot that showered my men with dirt as they took cover. I could clearly see a small piece of shrapnel bounce off a guardsman's helmet. I fired two shots this time and the shotgunner went down as his hands frantically tried to stop the bleeding in his neck and throat. The last one could be considered lucky that he made it to the trench, but he was met with a pair of bayonets and the worst damage he did was to bleed on his enemy. I aimed forward again as the slow DAKADAKA of Carson's bolter started firing again.

"Ammo report!" I ordered as I downed a suicide bomber by hitting his explosive charge hanging on his chest. He had been a fool and was standing in the middle of a group preparing to rush when I shot him. They were all consumed in the explosion that followed.

"Four belts left on the Bolter." Carson reported.

"Fifty percent ammo left on the right flank!" Gareth reported.

"Seventy percent ammo left on the left flank!" Kristina reported, and we had around sixty percent left in the central positions. All in all we were set to fight for at least another half hour. Michael had stopped yelling into the microphone and was now listening intensely for orders.

"Regimental command has sent a Valkyrie for extraction! We are getting out." He yelled after he had received the order. "It is five minutes out; Six at most. Listen for callsign 'Bearer'." He informed and grabbed his lasrifle. I simply nodded in reply before switching to full auto.

"Rushers on the right! Full auto, but do not waste ammo!" I yelled into the voxbead, but the squad would have heard me anyhow. These cultists were dressed with crude armour made of welded plates. They were covered in sigils and runes that were covered in blood that had probably been sacrificed to their deity Khorne. One lost his leg after bursts of ionized air chopped it off. I fired two bursts at them before they charged at us. To my big surprise I saw that the armour actually managed to stop and sometimes deflect the lasfire directed at them.

"Shoot them in the legs!" I ordered, and held the trigger down. The result was an unsteady wall of lasbolts striking cultists in cover behind a fountain some sixty meters in front of us. It had once been gray and somewhat artistic with a pool and all, but now the grey stones were blackened and at some places blasted apart. A loud "KRAK" filled the air as a grenade was hurled at the rushers and they turned into a shower of blood, body parts and metal. I crouched down as a piece of plasma flew through the air a few inches above me. Even through my armour I could feel the heat of the blue ball of death as it passed by.

I carefully crawled up to the edge of the crater and looked at the enemy emplacements. Barricades of bodies, burnt-out wreckages, sandbags and pieces of debris served as cover for the heretics.

"Callsign Bearer is three minutes out. How is the situation on the ground? Over." The pilot of the Valkyrie asked through the vox-band. I smiled a little to myself.

"_We can get out of this!_"I cheered mentally. "Corporal Leon Growl here pilot. We have fifteen fighting guardsmen, and our officer is lost. We are holding our ground against a superior host of heretics. No sign of rocketlaunchers as of yet. Over." I replied, and brought the lasrifle up to my chin.

"FRAK!" someone screamed on the right flank as they were wounded. At least he was still alive.

"Copy that. Inbound with weapons hot, over and out." The pilot replied and left the channel.

"Two minutes till Evac!" I yelled triumphantly as the thought of getting out alive filled me with joy. It also had an audible effect on the squad as well as they cried "For the Emperor!" and "Die you heretic scum." Other variations were also used and some cried "For sergeant Vicker!" I was one of those. With bravery and zeal filling us we kept the fight going.

_Present moment_

My hatred was literally oozing out of me as I beheld her. Part of me wanted to kick, punch and hurt her in any way possible. Another part wanted her court marshalled and punished by professionals. A third part said that I should simply kill her right here and right now like she deserved. The last and by far the smallest part wanted to forgive her and pretend that nothing had ever happened and that we had survived together. However: She was a traitor and a heretic and had to die. "Please... I can explain..." She begged and looked directly into my eyes.

"Shut up." I replied angrily. She quickly closed her mouth, and something that looked like sadness swept over her face. "_Just an act for the gallery._" I convinced myself to kill the sympathy blossoming in my chest.

"Will you be a nice girl and lie still? I asked after a little thinking. I had a pair of straps that were used by arbiters to detain agitators and such. They would serve nicely as handcuffs on her as well. She nodded in silence and held her wrists together above her stomach as I got the straps out with my right hand. She made no moves as I put the rifle down. She carefully eyed the knife as I came closer.

"Roll onto your stomach." I ordered, leaving no room for discussion. She followed the order like the trained soldier she was, and placed her hands on her lower back with the wrists together like earlier. I sat down on her knees to prevent her from suddenly kicking me. It probably hurt a lot, but she did not complain. I pulled the strap around her hands and in between them as well before I closed the lock. I checked and she had no more space than to move around four millimetres inside the strap. Her pistol was still in its holster so I pulled it out and placed it in my own. I said nothing as I rolled her over onto her back.

Repeating the drill on how to scavenge ammo and other usable items from a dead guardsman or guardswoman my hands went up and down her figure after I had taken out her powercells, her knife and small nutrient bars I threw them away towards a corner. My hands felt their way along her figure to check for hidden weapons or dangerous items she might have hidden away. My hands went down from her armpits to her hips and then up her stomach and chest. Remaining as professional as possible I let my hands slip over her breasts. My cheeks blushed when I touched them. This was the first time I had ever touched a female in that "region" through my whole life. Being twenty-two of age I should have been given a medal. I could not help to notice that they... well... bounced slightly as my hands swept up to her neck to take off her helmet.

I loosened the strap and took the helmet off her head. Loose strands of hair fell out, and I saw that most of her hair was arranged into a bun on the back of her head. Her helmet was thrown over to the rest of the seized possessions. I unbuttoned the first three buttons on her jacket to check for any amulets or artefacts hanging around her neck. I found nothing but her dog tags. She wore a green tank-top underneath her jacket so I wasn't encroaching on her personal spaces. "_She's a heretic... Why do I even care about that?_" I asked myself mentally "_She is a heretic and she has no rights other than the mercy of the Emperor."_I reminded myself and steeled my mind again.

She didn't look as scared now as she had been before. I moved down to her legs and her now empty belt. My hands swept professionally along her legs. I found nothing of import, but I felt kind of sad when the search was done for some reason.

"Have you been marked yet?" I asked coolly as I stepped off her. If she had been marked with the star of Chaos then there would indeed be no mercy for her.

"No." She answered me and shook her head.

"You'd better not lie to me Vicker." I threatened and grasped the knife tighter.

"You can strip me if you like. I have nothing to hide." The answer took me by surprise. "_A trick to make me lust for her._" I thought, but answered aggressively "Maybe I will." She flinched a little at my reply, and I felt a little amused.

A glass was shattered out in the hall as it was pierced by a lasgun. I instinctively fell down on one knee, and grabbed my new pistol. I supported my right hand with my left forearm like I had done with the rifle and waited.

"Stay." I growled to Vicker without even looking at her.

"Okay." She replied as I stalked towards my rifle on the desk. When I felt the desk touch my upper thigh I holstered the gun and sheathed the knife before I picked up the rifle. My hands found their familiar positions close to the trigger and on the grip below the barrel. I threw a last glance at Vicker. Making sure she was lying still I headed out.

I looked out of the window as carefully as I could. Only a few heretics were wasting ammo now, and they were shooting at the wrong buildings. I did not even think about taking a shot at them this time. I had no interest in fighting back an enemy patrol on my own. Now that I looked at them I saw that there were over two hundred soldiers down there. I saw at least three heavy bolters with ammo, four improvised motorized vehicles were also carrying ammunition-boxes. They were like ours, but the Aquila had been burned or scraped off. Also they had a lot of slaves, but I would have guessed no more than eighty.

"_Headed for the front._" I thought as they were moving again. They were marching towards the explosions on the horizon. They would probably have to dig in and defend themselves for now. I could clearly see more explosions on the outskirts of the town than in the imperial emplacements. At least thirty regiments with armoured detachments and artillery were guarding the city, and right now I should have been among them. Fighting in a trench was preferable to being stuck here. Still, I would do my duty to the Emperor till the end. At the moment that meant guerrilla-warfare. That meant traps, escape-routes, hit and run and A LOT of scavenging. I remembered back to basic training on my home-planet of Orask. Simple things like a grenade with a tripwire could cause casualties. I had once been very close to one, and because of it I had a large purple scar over the right side of my ribcage where a piece of a wall had hit me. Another clever little devil was of course spikes coated in any hazardous material. A slow death would be guaranteed for the person stepping on it unless they of course had a very good medic on the spot or the person had a superior immune-system. The thinking of basic training also brought back other memories. The blue skies and vast oceans of Orask seemed like paradise to me. To come home to my mother and father in our house on one of the agricultural continents and taste the first harvest of the year felt like a dream. Mother had always baked good muffins on Sundays. I had personally made the chocolate ones with a cream coating my favourite.

An explosion brought me back to where I was as a Basilisk or Lemann Russ tank shot way above its target and landed in the city a few blocks away. I checked the watch on my left wrist as the memories of home faded away. It was eight forty-seven local time and night would fall soon.

"_Nothing more to do today._" I decided. To say that it had been a rough day was an understatement. I had seen my friends get slaughtered for nothing, the memory of running through enemy fire still gave me shivers as I could swear that I had heard a demon howl behind me and last but not least the feeling that I was alone filled me.

"_At least I am the last Imperial._" I corrected as I remembered Vicker in the room behind me. Her full name was Caroline Vicker, and she too was from Orask. Now however we were mortal enemies. The thought struck me that I would have to sleep with my enemy tonight. I would not sleep with her of course, but at least in the same room. I had to keep an eye on her after all. I let out a short laugh as I hung my rifle by its sling onto my back. It was going to be the last laugh I would probably have in a while.

I turned around and looked down onto the floor. Leaving dead cultists in the hall would not be a smart thing to do. I bent over and grabbed the robe of the one with a limp leg and pulled him into the office beside the one I had Vicker in. I would have to burn them at a later date I decided. I would not leave their taint alone to fester. The bodies were all pulled into the office and I saw on the way that there was two men and one female. The only thing that told them apart were the bodily features since they wore exquisite silken masks of fine making that covered their faces. I was careful to not touch their desecrated and unholy weapons as I dumped them in there with them. I had torn off some of the silken fabric and used that instead of my gloves to carry the weapons. After I was done I recited prayers of cleansing and protection to the Emperor. The silk was discarded as I walked out. The silk had been really smooth, but I did not want it. Excess of comfort was a path to Slaanesh.

"Are we safe?" Vicker asked from the floor as I closed the door behind me. I turned and looked at her as she was now sitting with her back to the wooden desk.

"Get up." I ordered, omitting her question. The fact that I couldn't see her hands was dangerous. She could have gotten out of the straps, and were going to attack me.

With some experimenting and almost falling she got up on two legs. She was ten centimetres lower than me, and I was 183cm so she was rather tall.

"Turn around." I ordered when she did not make a move. I had my rifle at my hip now and it was on full-auto mode. The barrel was aimed at her and she knew it. She tried to keep her eyes on me as she turned around. I relaxed when I saw that the straps were in place and securely locked.

"Are we safe?" She asked again, sounding more worried this time.

"I am. You aren't." I answered her, making it clear that I could kill her at any time I liked. "At least for the moment." I added. "The enemy knows someone is taking shots at them in this area." I said and almost called her "Sir" and I think she noticed, but she was smart enough to avoid pointing it out. I pulled my own helmet off and walked over to her. I stared her right into her eyes and asked"Why did you sell us out?" I was calm and collected, but my anger was not far away. At the moment however it was sealed away in an imaginary bomb-shell, and that bomb shell could go off it was disturbed.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked back after a little hesitation.

"Because I fracking deserve to!" I almost yelled back in anger. I managed to keep my voice down, but she realized how angry I was.

"I did not sell you out." She answered as she came a little closer.

"Liar." I replied. "Tell me the truth." I ordered angrily and pushed her back. She was taken by surprise and ended up falling on top of the desk with her back down.

She managed to get up into a sitting position and answered "It is the truth." I stared angrily into her eyes and she stubbornly stared back. No one gave quarter so I just had to come with a theory.

"You sold us out so you could live through this shit. Free drugs and a huge choice of partners... must have been tempting." I said in an effort to anger her, but it was also a probable solution in my head.

"How the hell dare you speak to me like that?" She raged and rushed to her feet. She was easily stopped as her chest collided with the barrel of my rifle.

"How dare you speak like that to me heretic?" I spat the last word as an insult. She clearly took the insult straight to her heart as she flinched at the word. My former sergeant took a step back and looked down. "I have all day," I said "and I expect an answer." I finished, and kept staring at her.

"I did it to save you. I sold myself so that the cultists would open up a route for you to retreat through." She said and looked up at my rifle. Once again sadness filled her face. "They opened the route and I ordered your retreat." She went on and gathered her willpower. "I blame you for their deaths." She said at last and looked straight into my eyes. My first reaction was to pull the trigger, but I managed to hold my trigger finger in place.

"Lie down." I ordered her as calmly as possible when I had gotten my anger back in check. She saw that resisting my orders would not be a good thing to do. The only two reasons that she was still alive was because I had been too surprised to shoot her when I found her and that I had to find the truth about why we were sacrificed. She lay down on the floor and I ordered her to hold her hands close to one of the legs of the desk. After she had complied I tied her to it using the other strap I had in my possession. "Stay." I ordered after my work was done and walked out into the now empty hall. I would stay on guard for a few hours before night fell. I did not want to be in the same room as the traitor for a few hours.

The city was burning in some places, but it would not spread here. I could see the explosions more clearly, and I could almost swear that I could see lasfire on the outskirts of the city. I doubted that the Imperial army attempted to take back the city at the moment, but rather the cultists were trying to break out.

I checked my rifle took up position by a window and waited.


End file.
